Chapter 46

"You still remember to come back."

"..." As soon as Jin Xi entered the door, a heavy shout came over her head. Jin Xi called out, "Grandpa."

In the living room, an old man in a Zhongshan suit sat upright.

This is Jinxi's grandfather. The old man sat on his own exclusive sofa. He didn't even look at Jinxi, but just breathed through his nose and snorted.

"Hey, Xixi, you're back." At this time, a kind-looking woman walked out of the room to the entrance and took Jinxi's suitcase with a smile. "Xixi, what do you want to eat? Tell Auntie Ai to make it for you."

The woman looked older, but she was very mobile. This was Aunt Ai, Jinxi's caregiver, who had been taking care of Jinxi's grandfather for six years.

"Aunt Ai, I can do it myself." Jin Xi respected this aunt very much, because it was difficult for anyone to tolerate grandpa's bad temper. If it weren't for Aunt Ai, the relationship between Jin Xi and grandpa might have become more rigid.

Aunt Ai responded, "Okay, the room has been cleaned for you."

"Okay, thank you Aunt Ai."

Grandpa's house is an ordinary old county town house, with two floors. Jinxi and her mother share one room, Grandpa and Grandma share another, and her aunt and uncle live on the second floor. The house was always noisy, but now it's quiet and peaceful. When did this start? Was it after Jinxi's mother left for the big city? When her aunt and uncle started their own families? Or when Grandma passed away?

My grandfather has two sons and two daughters. Neighbors always say that Jinxi is my grandfather's third daughter.

That’s right, Jinxi grew up with her grandparents.

Jinxi's mother ran away with someone when she was nineteen. Six years later, she returned home with four-year-old Jinxi. Grandpa was a man who cared a lot about his reputation. He beat up his eldest daughter, who hadn't been seen for many years, for returning home with his youngest daughter. If it weren't for his grandmother and younger aunts and uncles holding her back, Jinxi's mother's legs would have been broken. After the beating, Grandpa accepted Jinxi's mother and Jinxi again. But a few years later, young Jinxi's mother wanted to leave again, wanting to make a living in the big city. Grandpa was furious and scolded her harshly, saying she was a sinner, an unfilial daughter, and a dreamer! Jinxi also cried and said, "No, don't scold Mom, don't let Mom go."

But she still left. That year, Jinxi was seven years old.

After that, Jinxi lived with her grandparents.

My grandfather was a teacher in the county. He was serious all his life, but he would always smile while holding Jinxi. My grandmother always said that my grandfather gave all his fatherly love to his niece.

But the year my grandfather just retired, my grandmother passed away, and in an instant, my grandfather looked much older.

From then on, my grandfather became even more serious.

Jinxi returned to her room, where she had lived since childhood. Returning to this small world, she felt completely relaxed. Lying on the bed, she turned her head to look out the window. The old shrub tree in the yard was still there. The furnishings in the room were exactly as they had been when she left. She lay quietly on the mat, a gentle breeze blowing past, and she felt sleepy.

When Jin Xi opened her eyes, the sky had turned red and voices could be heard outside the room.

"Dad, you have to think it over carefully!"

"I know! Stop talking!"

She recognized whose voice it was. Jin Xi pursed her lips, adjusted her expression, and walked out of the room.

Sitting on the sofa was a woman wearing black-framed glasses, light makeup, and big wavy hair. She was talking to Jinxi's grandfather. The woman saw Jinxi and said, "Oh, Xixi is back too."

"Aunt." Jin Xi called out, and looking around the living room, she saw a man sitting at the dining table, "Uncle."

Jinxi's sister-in-law was a strong woman, the head of the family. She changed her voice to her son, who was slumped on the sofa playing with his phone, "Xiaopeng, call someone."

The little boy raised his head reluctantly and glanced at Jinxi, "Sister Xixi."

"Yeah." Jin Xi responded. She thought it was time to eat and wanted to go to the kitchen to check, but her aunt stopped her.

"Xixi, since you're here, why don't you try to persuade your grandpa?" The aunt pulled Jinxi closer, sat down, and said, "You know, our old house is going to be demolished soon. I asked Dad to give us a few more houses, but he refused. He said he wanted money. How much money can we get? How many houses can we get? Look at how expensive the housing prices around us are now. How big a house can we buy with the money?"

Jin Xi knew her aunt's intention. If the house was demolished, the compensation based on the area of ​​this old house could be at least three or four houses. By then, her grandfather would only live in one house at most. Her aunt simply heard that there were school district houses in the area where the compensation houses were located, and she had her eyes on this school district house.

"This is grandpa's house, let him decide." Jin Xi didn't care whether it was a house or money. She couldn't interfere with who grandpa wanted to give it to.

My aunt suddenly raised her voice, "Hey, Xixi, you're not right to say that. You also have a house in City B..."

"Cough cough!" Grandpa coughed violently, and Jin Xi and her aunt were so frightened that they patted him on the body. "Dad, have you been taking your medicine well recently?" said her aunt.

Jinxi brought a glass of water and handed it to her grandfather. Her grandfather glared at her aunt and said, "If you don't get angry with me, I'll be fine."

My aunt scolded my grandfather, "Dad, why do you need so much money when you only have a pension of 5,000 or 6,000 yuan?"

"What do you care?"

Aunt Ai always shows up just in time, "Hey, dinner is ready, let's eat first."

Although my grandfather is 67 years old, he is still the head of the family. He sits majestically in the main seat. No one will move their chopsticks until he does.

After dinner, Jinxi's uncle returned, also with his wife and children. A local civil servant with a son and daughter and his own house, he was considered a "winner in life," with a happy family. But who would be dissatisfied with their wealth? Both the uncle and aunt had a clear goal: to buy a house after the old one was demolished. Jinxi's eldest uncle was an entrepreneur, having worked hard for many years and achieved some success in his career, so his family looked down on a house in a small county town. But the situation was different for the uncle and aunt's families. Both wanted a house, but neither could be sure who had priority, because grandpa wanted money and was stubbornly stubborn, which was the point of conflict.

"Dad, what are you thinking? My eldest brother said that taking the house is the best option. Why do you insist on asking for money? Why do you need money?"

"Hmph..." Grandpa didn't say anything, his face was gloomy.

"Oh, my stubborn dad. Tell me honestly, is it because of Xixi?" The aunt glanced at Jinxi's door. The children had gone upstairs to watch TV. "Haven't you taken care of her enough? The year she was admitted to university, you insisted that her dad buy her a house. It was a school district house in City B. Don't think we don't know that you also contributed a lot of money yourself." The aunt had no objection to Jinxi, but she was annoyed by her father. "And now you want my second sister to buy her a car. What's going on? Are you planning to give her a house, a car, and money, and then find her a rich family to marry into, right?"

Over the years, the uncle had seen his father's actions and felt a lot of resentment in his heart. "Oh, if you were even a little bit nice to her, we would be grateful. But what's the point of being nice to her? Didn't you still end up in the hospital last time because of you?"

"Yes, Dad, do you really expect her to take care of you in your old age? When the time comes, won't it be..."

"Shut up!" Grandpa raised his voice, his face flushed. "You come here every day and say nonsense. If you say that again, don't come back!"

Then there was another noise, like talking, or arguing, and finally the sound of a door slamming.

This is Jinxi's home.

"Hello…"

"Ren Qiao'an." Jin Xi's eyes were a little red.

Ren Qiaoan was surprised to receive a call from Jinxi. They usually communicated more through text. "Well, what's wrong? Are you home?"

"Yeah, here we are." The older she got, the more she realized she felt out of place and powerless. This complex feeling stemmed not only from the conflicts between her and her grandfather, but also from the prejudices held by other family members. Jinxi tried to explain it, but it only seemed to get worse.

Perhaps her birth was a mistake.

"What's wrong? You sound weird."

"I miss you a little." Jin Xi missed Ren Qiao'an. She missed the girl who was sometimes sharp-tongued, sometimes angry, and sometimes serious, but always looked at her gently.

Ren Qiaoan heard the fragility in Jinxi's voice. "I miss you, too, scumbag." In the past, Ren Qiaoan had considered Jinxi a flower of the highest order, untouchable and forever shielded by indifference. But the more he got to know her, the more he realized that beneath her hard shell lay a fragile little girl in need of care and tenderness.

"..." Ren Qiao'an's voice seemed to have a kind of magic that always soothed Jin Xi's uneasy heart. "Why are you calling me scum again?"

Jin Xi needs comfort, attention, and gentle treatment.

"What else should I call you?" Ren Qiao'an's eyes rolled. "Little baby? Darling? Sweetheart~"

"...Pfft..." Jin Xi could even imagine the playful look in Ren Qiao'an's eyes when he said this, "Why don't you say it to my face~"

"I'm afraid you'll be shy. Look how much I care about you." Ren Qiao'an touched his nose and looked up at the sky.

"I don't believe you." Jin Xi found that Ren Qiao'an liked to make jokes in a joking way.

"Hey, you can't believe anything I say. Whose lies do you want to believe? I'm an honest man. What do you call this? That's right, you're looking at the sky with your nose holes—you have no eyes!"

"Haha, what nonsense are you talking about."

The two chatted back and forth until late at night, until Ren Qiao'an's little nephew called out to Ren Qiao'an, and her mother called out to her.

"Okay, I'll hang up first. We'll talk next time."

"Okay." Jin Xi was a little reluctant.

"I miss you, Jinxi." After saying that, Ren Qiao'an hung up.

Summer vacation at home is a long time, especially for those who miss their parents. Jinxi stayed at home for about a month before hurriedly returning to City B, all because of the series of "blind dates" arranged by her grandfather. Jinxi didn't want to conflict with her grandfather, worried about his health, and unable to control her emotions, so she found an excuse to "go back to school."

After Ren Qiao'an knew that Jin Xi had returned to City B, she became interested and contacted the teacher to ask for a job. This gave Ren Qiao'an a reason to return to school early, but she didn't tell Jin Xi because she wanted to give her a surprise.

On the first day of school, Ren Qiao'an ran to Taohuayuan to wait for Jinxi to come back.

However……

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The author has something to say:

I have something to say: This chapter is just my own nonsense about the compensation and ownership of the relocated households. I have not done any research on it. Just take a look. The specific methods and measures for relocation and compensation in reality should not be like this. I have not learned about it because it has nothing to do with me.